


Not Stupid

by Just_Another_Introvert



Category: Undertale (Video Game)
Genre: Angst, Blue Needs a Hug, But you probably can't, Death, Gen, Since you cant hug dust
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-09-06
Updated: 2017-09-12
Packaged: 2018-12-24 10:48:21
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 3
Words: 3,377
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12011136
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Just_Another_Introvert/pseuds/Just_Another_Introvert
Summary: Oh boy do I absolutely love angst, but I haven't actually ever tried to write it first hand.Sans did something wrong, but he doesn't know what.He doesn't know how to fix it.He doesn't know what to do anymore.





	1. Not Stupid

**Author's Note:**

> My attempt at angst....Yeah  
> I can't.  
> Teach me the ways, someone, anyone.

Sans doesn’t remember how the whole fight had happened. It was just a casual dinner talk that turned into a fight. And he doesn’t know how to fix his mistakes. He doesn’t even know what he did wrong at all. All he wanted to do was talk about how he really felt, and Papyrus had burst at him.

All Sans wanted to do was tell Papyrus that he wasn’t as stupid or naive as Papyrus made him out to be. That he knows about everything and doesn’t want to hide it from him. That he remembers Gaster and all the experiments and that he was even starting to remember some very old resets. All he wanted to do was tell Papyrus that he wasn’t alone so what did he do wrong?  


“Papy, I remember a lot of things from the past. I’ve been starting to remember a lot of things this week, and oh Toriel, you went through so many horrible things. I….I know a lot more things than you think I know. I know Alphys won’t let me into the Royal Guard. I know when you’re lying to me, or hiding behind a smile Papy. But I never knew of a way to bring the topic up, but now I want to be brave and- and help you through all this Papy...Papyrus.”  


“No...no no nonononono,” Papyrus muttered. “You can’t...you can’t youcan’tyoucan’tyoucan’t you  _ shouldn’t  _ remember. Why? Why is this happening? What did I do wrong this time? Is this Karma? Did I do something bad?” He kept chanting those words over and over, dinner completely forgotten and left to go cold on the table, leaving Sans behind with tears dripping down his face.  


“Papy? Papy! What are you doing in there? Come out! Can we please talk about this? Did I do something wrong? Have I done something to hurt you? Or-or upset you in some way?,” Blue tried to open the door but the attempt ended up fruitless since Papyrus had locked it up with magic. A much more powerful magic than his own.  


“Come on Papy! Open the door..please!”  


Since then it had been half a month. Sans didn’t understand at all. Did he do something awful? Did he do the wrong thing in telling Papyrus about his knowledge. Is this….is this going to completely affect his relationship with Papyrus? Will they never be able to look each other face to face anymore.  
  
  


It was now two months since Papyrus had avoided him like a plague and it hurt to think it was his fault that Papyrus now hated him. He sat on the couch, gripping his shirt, right above his SOUL. God it hurt so much. It hurt too much.

It shouldn’t hurt this much.  


“Papy?,” Sans called out, his vision blinking in and out. He knew what was happening. He was falling. And there was nothing he could do to stop this. But oh mother of Toriel did he wish he can. He still wasn’t able to talk to Papyrus at all. But Sans felt he deserved it.  


It was his own fault that Papyrus now seemed to hate him. His own fault that Papyrus was now doing everything in his power to avoid him, and honestly, Papyrus had never worked so hard for anything else in his life. Sans laughed which was soon cut off by a choked cough. Maybe Sans should be proud that Papyrus was actually doing something in his life, even if it was avoiding Sans. His SOUL pulsed and he felt his SOUL shatter just a bit, and Sans bit back a cry.  


He had already troubled Papyrus so, so much. He didn’t want to trouble him any more. He didn’t want his baby brother to hurt even more than he was now. And if it meant that Sans had to die in order for Papyrus to regain his happiness, the so be it.  


Time seemed to move so much slower when you were dying. His head lolled to the side to face the clock. Mwehehe. He missed his shift for the very first time ever. He forgot to knock on Papyrus’ door before his shift like he always did.  


Oh, but why should Sans care about his constant knocking if he was going to make Papyrus so, so much happier than he already is now. But really, he wished he could see Papyrus’s face one more time before he left, wished he could smell the familiar faint smell of honey on all of his clothes and the stronger scent of smoke that always had a hypnotic effect on Sans.  


A door from above clicked open. Oh, that’s the smell he had wanted to smell for two months straight, and missed for all does days.  


“Hey bro,” Papyrus’ rusty voice echoed. Thank the gods that Blue decided to rearrange the furniture so that you couldn't see what was on the couch from above. He really didn’t want for Papyrus to see his hideous form, shattered soul and all.  


“Hey...Paps,” Sans answered back slowly, just as his SOUL shattered another centimeter closer to the core. “I….missed your….voice.”  


“Yeah...me too.”  


Silence filled the room before Sans took a breath.  


“You’re… going to be…. So much…….happier….soon.”  


  


“...”

  


“I promise…….”

Another centimeter closer. 

  


Yet another one.

  


And another.

  


“....Can you… look at me?.”

  
  


The break is so close. Sans can feel it. 

  
  


“...Sans?.....”

  
  


Paps was finally going to be free.

From him.

  


Forever

  
  


“S-Sans?”

  
  


Wanted to see his face one last time.

  
  


“Paps?.......I love you.”

  
  
  


Then he was gone.

  
  


**CONTINUE                   *RESET**


	2. Not So Stupid

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Just two small continuations of the first Chapter.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The ideas just kinda...hit me. I felt like the ideas were kinda cool.

Not So Stupid Ver. 1 - Reset

Sans didn’t know what happened when a calming darkness washed over him and all his senses were numbed. All he could remember was the sweet smell of honey and smoke, a muffled, worried voice, and the almost soothing sound of the tick tock of the clock. And then he was back, sitting at the dinner table with Papyrus sitting in front of him and eating his food happily. Sans almost gasped in shock, his being brought back to reality- to  _life_  felt like being thrown into a bucket of cold water and ice and then suddenly being shoved into lava. But then he realized that Papyrus was still eating, a happy grin on his face and his mind off to some unknown part of his head. Realization came quickly over the small skeleton.

He didn’t remember.

Sans was almost glad. Glad that the world had somehow given him a second chance at fixing his mistakes. This time he would keep Papyrus happy by pretending- that’s all he seemed to be good for anyways. Staying the optimistic, happy, oblivious skeleton that he always was to everyone around him. And he was fine with that. Almost.

It hurt that Papyrus couldn’t truly handle the real him, that he had turned away from him so quickly, and that he was eating his food in front of him with faked happiness, not knowing a thing about what was running in his head.

Who was oblivious now?

“Hey Papy?,” Sans called with a question to his tone. “Do you know that I love you?” Papyrus looked up at him with the same tired and doubtful eyes that he always had.

“Of course I do bro,” Papyrus answered with a grin, his pupil’s not showing any emotion in the slightest.

“I love you so much Papyrus. I really do. I wish you would be able to talk to me more about yourself,” _and let me talk to you about me,_ “and that you would start to realize how much my love goes for you.”  _So much that I turned back time for you._ Papyrus stopped eating for a second, and Sans thought that he had, yet again, messed up the whole thing again, until he was scooped into a strong hug, comforting long arms wrapping around his small body, and all Sans could do was lean in.

The memories of the last …. Timeline? World? …Reset, starting to spin his brain into a horrible, head splitting mess. He had missed having Papyrus’ arms around him for so long, missed having the smell of nicotine and honey on that all too familiar orange sweater he hadn’t been able to see in months.

Sans barely stopped his tear ducts in time and gripped onto Papyrus like he was his only lifeline. And frankly, Papyrus may have been, now that he knew he could fall down if Papyrus was gone from his life for too long. His soul beat hard against his ribs as he thought about this.

No. He was fine this way, he thought to himself, forcing his frantic soul to calm. He was fine.

As long as Papyrus was happy, Sans was fine.

Sans looked up at his brother with a  ~~fake~~ bright grin plastered on his skull.

“Let’s continue eating Papy, before our food turns cold.” _Again_.

 

Not So Stupid Ver. 2

 

Sans was a baby bones again. AGAIN?! Sans was panicking inside, his soul growing frantic with all the hundreds of emotions he was feeling at the moment. Sans looked around him, pupils darting back and forth, finally landing on a sleeping Papyrus snoring softly next to him in the dusty cage Gaster had stuffed him them in. He felt tears form in his eye sockets, his tears a few shades darker than usual, reflecting his heavy dark emotions within them.

Papyrus was safe. And Sans was alive.

But Sans couldn’t find it in himself to care too much about himself anymore.

Papyrus started waking at that moment, and Sans had immediately went into panic again. Oh God. What if Papyrus remembered this reset? Papyrus was going to kill him, blame him for everything. He was going to hate Sans so damn much for putting him through another horrible experience! Forcing him to relive his life  _agai_ -

Sans froze when Papyrus walked up to him and hugged him with his small arms giving him a strange sense of warmth. The small baby bones looked up at with with confused eyes. Confused and worried, but _alive_. 

Not those dead and tired eyes he was accustomed to seeing in Papyrus, but bright, still naive eyes, and Sans couldn’t hold his emotions back any longer. He held onto Papyrus with a deep sorrow still in him, his own soul turning a darker blue that churned with his hatred and anger towards himself.

He was going to keep Papyrus happy this time. He was going to make sure of it.

Even if that meant bottling up all of his emotions from his other life. Even if it meant keeping to himself again. Even if it meant he had to go through reliving his life to make sure Papyrus stayed happy.

Papyrus was now his everything. The focus of his life.

 

That brought them to today, Sans now lazily looking up at his pure brother with admiration. He couldn’t care less about himself anymore and had soon given up on trying too much on anything. At times he would miss his brother from his other life, but he couldn’t tell that to Papyrus. So instead, he reflected how his brother had used to act in some ways, to keep some of his life constant.

The sock on the wall. The constant going to Grillby’s that seemed to have been switched with Muffet. The mess of his room with the tornado swirling in the corners.

And the love for his brother.

He liked this life; liked how his brother was now always looking at him with bright determination radiating from his soul and a liveliness that Sans had never thought Papyrus ever had. Sans smiled, leaning back on the couch.

Sans knew he would always miss his old life in some ways. His soul was still dark from underlying hurt emotions from his previous life where the problem was never resolved. But he was more than satisfied with his life for now.

As long as Papyrus was happy.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Feel free to write another continuation, or give me some ideas in the comments and I'll be happy to try and recreate it.


	3. Not Stupid - Papyrus POV.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Papyrus' POV-ish

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Suggested by Niemachan
> 
> "Might be interesting to see from papyrus's point of view in the story. What happened to him as he ignored sans for those months, or how he saw how brother die."
> 
> Hope this came out how you wanted? Idk.
> 
> -There is some cursing-

Papyrus looked up at Sans with wide eyes, and he knew his eye lights had gone out. He  _ remembered.  _ God  _ FUCK _ Sans remembered! The words had come out so slowly, time seeming to slow down so that his mind captured every single word that came out of his brothers mouth. 

“Papy, I remember a lot of things from the past. I’ve been starting to remember a lot of things this week, and oh Toriel, you went through so many horrible things. I….I know a lot more things than you think I know. I know Alphys won’t let me into the Royal Guard. I know when you’re lying to me, or hiding behind a smile Papy. But I never knew of a way to bring the topic up, but now I want to be brave and- and help you through all this Papy...Papyrus.”

And it played over and over in Papyrus’ head, repeating those fucking words over and over and over. And suddenly he found himself out of his seat, his mind unable to filter his thoughts as he spoke rapidly. His skull was pounding and he felt himself want to puke up whatever he had put in his mouth.

“No...no no nonononono! You can’t...you can’t youcan’tyoucan’tyoucan’t you  _ shouldn’t  _ remember. Why? Why is this happening? What did I do wrong this time? Is this Karma? Did I do something bad?” Papyrus couldn’t breathe anymore, his magic running through his bones like fire as it traveled at a insufferable rate. He walked towards the stairs, stumbling over them.

And God, he could hear Blue sobbing and screaming at him to some back. He could feel the other’s soul pulse in deep regret and sorrow, and all Papyrus wanted to do was capture him in his arms and whisper comforting words-whispering that it wasn’t Sans’ fault.

But he couldn’t.

He couldn’t face Sans’ anymore. No... This wasn’t his Sans. This-this  _ thing  _ wasn’t Sans anymore. It was his living nightmare. Papyrus kept repeating it in his head, unable to get his mind to think otherwise and he felt a coldness wash over him, his magic flaring up and locking the door to keep this thing away from him. He couldn’t bare to look at something with his brother’s face. Couldn’t bare to see that unusual sorrow and regret on that face.

Papyrus knew it was wrong. But it also felt so right.

 

It had now been half a month. Every single day that monster with his brothers face would knock on the door, calling out to Papyrus to lure him in. But Papyrus refused, staying silent whilst digging his pillows against his skull in a futile attempt to block out the monster’s tempting voice. His soul now beat heavily in his chest and his mind was clearing up. But he forced it back to it’s groggy state with drugs. Nyehehe. His brother would be mad if he found out, Papyrus thought.  _ If his brother would finally come back.  _

  
  


It’s now been two months since that dinner had ended with Papyrus freaking out, and now every day he would wait for the knocking to happen, and for his brother to call out to him in that calming voice. Papyrus had long since forgotten why he would ever think his brother was a monster.

Papyrus had also long since come to terms with his brother understanding the concept of resets. But he still couldn’t bare to see Sans’ face. Not when he felt that wave of guilt from Sans whenever he stood at his door and rapped his bony knuckles against it. Not when he knew he looked like a complete mess after locking himself up in his room, surviving off the bare minimum of half a bottle of honey a day and a donut.

But today was different.

Today Sans’ hadn’t knocked on his door like usual. Today Papyrus didn’t hear the click of the front door opening and closing.

Instead he heard a heavy thump of something landing on the couch….then silence. It started worrying Papyrus when all he heard was silence. No knocking, no clicking. No sweet voice talking to him from outside his room.

“Papy?,” a soft voice echoed quietly, making Papyrus’ heart ache. God, Sans’ voice sounded so broken. So desperate. So  _ dead. _

Papyrus felt his tears fall silently down his face when he heard the soft calling. He didn’t even realize how much he had really missed Sans in these two months until it came back in a sudden rush. He felt so many emotions at once, hitting him harder than anything had ever hit before.

So for the first time in two months, Papyrus opened the door to his room, almost sighing at the smell of fresh air. But he couldn’t enjoy it. Not when Sans was stuck on his mind and his soul beating to find his brother.

“Hey bro.” It was a simple phrase. But it meant so much more, and he hoped Sans could feel it too.

“Hey...Paps,” Sans called out, barely raising his voice above a whisper. “I…. missed your….voice.” Papyrus didn’t bother trying to hide his sorrow any longer, letting his tears roll freely and his vision blur so that all the colors blended in together.

“Yeah...me too.” He put a sleeve to his eye sockets, barely keeping himself together anymore. He wanted to ask so many questions, wanted so many answers, wanted to kiss Sans on the top of his skull like they always did after a bedtime story, wanted to cry and tell Sans everything he deserved to know. But couldn’t seem to open his mouth anymore.

“You’re… going to be…. So much…….happier….soon,” Sans breathed out, words laced with pain. That wasn’t normal. Papyrus stayed silent for a moment, feeling his bones shake with something almost akin to fear.

 

“I promise.” 

 

Papyrus’ brain couldn’t process his brothers words anymore when he finally heard that telltale crack. He couldn’t move, his eye sockets impossibly wide as he spoke, his voice quivering slightly.

“....Can you...look at me?,” Papyrus asked, unwanting to move himself in fear of passing out on the stairway or passing out from the little magic in his body being used.

 

Sans didn’t answer him.

 

Something was wrong.

 

His soul pulsed in worry but Sans didn’t seem to want to move from the couch.

“Sans?,” Papyrus called out louder this time, the fear pulsing determination he hadn’t felt in his bones for so long.

 

“Paps?....I love you.”

 

“Sans?,” Papyrus called out when he heard another crack, louder than before. Before he could think, he had rushed down the stairs, his breathing becoming ragged. 

“Sans? Sans?! Sans!!” He finally looked at the couch….and all he found was dust, spread over the couch with  that signature blue bandana lying untied on top of it and he felt his own soul crack.

“No...nononONONONONO! NO!!! GOD FUCKING DAMMIT!!! GOD FUCK!!!,” Papyrus cried out, his scream echoing through the UnderGround. His orange tears fell onto the baby blue bandana, his grip on it tightening hard enough for his bones to hurt from the strain.

The orange soul within him was now almost agonizingly painful, but Papyrus didn’t care anymore. All he could do was press the bandana into his closed eyes and sob.

Papyrus should have done something. He could have prevented this all. He could have stopped Sans!!

But it was too late.

Much too late.

He collapsed onto the couch; onto his brother’s dust, not feeling anything except for the tears that continued to stream down his face through closed eyes.

He caused this. Not the Human this time. It was his own fucking fault. His own fault. And he knew was going to live with this pain forever.

Papyrus heard a loud crack within himself and laughed humorlessly. The world wasn’t even allowing him time to feel guilty about this now. But he supposed he deserved this punishment. Because now he would have to face his brother in the next timeline with this guilt driven deep into his broken soul.

 

Then the world faded to darkness, blue bandana landing on top of an empty orange sweater. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yeah, this one was pretty bad. Maybe I should learn how to make angst a bit better.


End file.
